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General News

3 March, 2021

TRC welcomes acting CEO.

The Tablelands Regional Council (TRC) is now looking for another CEO after current interim CEO Bob Owen chose to resign effective Friday, February 26.

By Phil Brandel

TRC Mayor Rod Marti with new Interim CEO Hilary Jackson at last Thursdays council meeting.
TRC Mayor Rod Marti with new Interim CEO Hilary Jackson at last Thursdays council meeting.

TRC welcomes acting CEO.

The Tablelands Regional Council (TRC) is now looking for another CEO after current interim CEO Bob Owen chose to resign effective Friday, February 26.

Mr Owen was just eight months into a 14-month Interim CEO appointment, filling the chair after original TRC CEO Justin Commons resigned suddenly in May 2020.

The vacancy has left the TRC scrambling, as they need to appoint an acting CEO to take the chair from Monday, before they can hire an interim CEO, who will then fill the position while the recruitment process takes place for a fulltime CEO.

Mayor Rod Marti said that Council had made steady progress under Mr Owen. “We tried to hit a reset button early, adopting a balanced budget and freezing the General rate,” Cr Marti said.

“Bob has made it clear that he wanted to do something less stressful things in his life and we wish all the best and thank him for his contribution.”

“Under Bob we’ve strengthened our local buy policy, we’ve tidied up our procurement more broadly. We have also been working on improving the customer service experience and making the organisation more accessible.” 

To fill the gap, at Thursday’s Council meeting the TRC resolved to appoint the General Manager Community and Corporate Services, Hilary Jackson as Acting CEO until an Interim CEO can be appointed.

Ms Jackson will be the third CEO to oversee council since Rod Marti and the new council were elected in March 2020.

“It will be great having Hillary on board, it's fortunate that we have someone well equipped and qualified to do the job,” Cr Marti said.

“Hillary is highly professional, competent and calm, all the things you want as an acting CEO.”

Mr Marti added that council would like to have an interim CEO appointed within the next few weeks.

 “As for a full time CEO, it would be nice if we could hire a fulltime CEO before we adopt the 21/22 budget in June, but that could be a bit ambitious.”

Mayor Rod Marti said that recruiting a CEO would take some time, but Council did see the transition as an opportunity to refresh and continue the reform process.

“Council will be seeking a leader who understands the challenges of rural local government, who has the desired competencies and who is strategically aligned with Council,” he said.

“Local government is a tough gig, but we live in a great region, so we expect we’ll get some well-qualified leaders apply.”


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